Doing it all.

When I sat down to write my new year’s resolutions (not the ones I shared on the blog but a list of more specific personal goals) I was so tempted to list out everything I wanted to see change in my life.

My manic list of things to do in 2017 looked something like this: Buy a house. Pay off all of my debt. Write a novel. Run a marathon. Travel to 25 different countries. Waltz around in head to toe looks straight from NYFW runways. Meet Taylor Swift. Get Gigi Hadid’s bikini body. Single handedly deal with global warming and all the girls who don’t get to go to school. Research every cult that has ever existed and write a book analyzing the psychology of religion. Get into law school. Perfectly curate my Instagram with fabulously staged photos mimicking the pages of Vogue. Ha!

I may be exaggerating a tiny bit but I think my point is clear. So often I want to do it all and I want to achieve everything so quickly. One of my greatest weaknesses is my perpetual desire for freshness, newness and change. While life should be in part about experiencing new things, shouldn’t we take time to cultivate the metaphorical gardens we planted just recently?

Big news! I’m starting a new job at a law firm next Tuesday (my 25th birthday). I’ve done a lot of job hopping since I graduated college and while I am grateful for all of the experiences I’ve gained I am ready for a career I can settle into and learn the ropes.

I’ll be honest, it’s really hard for me not to chase down every passing fancy that crosses my mind. When a new subject or idea interests me I become obsessive. I’ll dive head first into researching a new subject only to find another interest to obsess over a month or two later. I’m speaking candidly here when I admit that this quality of mine worries me. I’m not sure how to balance drive and commitment with curiousity and exploration. How do I pursue new interests while sticking it out through the difficult times we all face in pursuit of our goals?

Moving forward I want to hold myself more accountable to my commitments without forcing myself to stick to petty goals and ambitions. While there is no reason to finish that book on the nightstand that continues to bore you, it’s important to recognize that every job has bad days and every long term friendship faces disagreements or challenges.

This year I won’t be able to do it all. I can’t start saving money while still buying every pair of Stuart Weitzman boots I see on the legs of a Victoria’s Secret Angel. I can’t work overtime, buy a house, get engaged, run a blog, start law school, travel across the globe and volunteer weekly with every organization that means something to me. I have to maintain my sanity and aiming to achieve all of my big goals in one year does not make me a #GirlBoss it makes me impatient.

I’ve noticed we really like to glorify the “do it all now” mindset (myself included). Start a business, travel abroad, get married, star in a reality television show, open an Etsy shop, take acting classes and blog your dreams all RIGHT NOW. This mindset is a great drive to get going, but I think it also sets us up for disappointment. What happens when you push everything to happen too fast and end up selling yourself short? Do we do everything half way without giving any task the real attention it deserves? I’m not suggesting we give up all of our ambitions but rather that we recognize we can’t always do it all at once.

Realistically a lot of my big goals should be five year goals not one year goals. By looking at what I want to accomplish over a slightly longer period of time I can reach for my goals without selling myself short or jumping into something before I can really get my “ducks in a row” so to speak.

Looking at my life with an endurance mindset instead of a sprint mindset is very freeing. I’ve felt the tightness in my chest dissolve just typing out this post. Note to self: breathe deeply and keep persisting even if it feels like the results aren’t immediate. Instant gratification is fun but achievement that comes from long term hard work is so much more fulfilling.

How do you think about goal setting? Do you sometimes aim to do too much into short of a time frame? How do you stay motivated to reach goals that won’t be achieved over night? I would love love love to hear your thoughts on this topic, I’m certainly not an expert!

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This speaks directly to me! I feel like I expect so much from myself sometimes that I need to step back and see what’s actually achievable. I actually haven’t really set any goals this year just because I’ve been so overwhelmed with the changes in my life, but I’m hoping to put a few solid goals and aspirations down in the next few weeks once things settle down.

Oh dear, you don’t just post all your goals online for everyone to see. I totally didn’t get the memo about that this year and my goal post is just everything I want to accomplish. I decided to be totally transparent so my friends who read my blog can hold me accountable.
All the best with your goal setting and reaching. For me, the key is in the daily habits and I try to make every day count towards reaching those goals.
You can see my really long list of goals here: https://runwright.net/2017/01/11/2017-goals/

I love this post so much, mostly because I feel exactly the same way! I constantly have new ideas and interests, and I honestly feel like l can’t stop my mind from creating all these dream projects and pursuits which, although it’s nice to have lots of ideas to choose from, it gives me that same feeling you’re talking about. I often fall into the trap of thinking that I can make something happen just about as quickly as I thought of it – then, of course, when I actually start doing it, and it’s going much more slowly, I either get discouraged or my mind is already thinking of other things, so what I’m actually doing doesn’t seem as interesting anymore.

I think what makes it hard is, like you said, this glorification of the “doing it all” mindset. Wth social media and blogs, we often see announcements of the big things that happen in people’s lives, without getting a real sense of the amount of time and work that went into getting to that point. That being said, I really do believe we can do it all, though maybe not all at the same time or as quickly as we might imagine.

I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself last year, and I’ve realized that, while it’s important for me to have multiple projects on the go at one time (with those constantly shifting interests, it would honestly feel like torture to make myself focus on just one thing for an extended period of time), I’ve learned to accept that this likely means that progress will happen more slowly. So, I’m taking a different approach to goals this year, and rather than having strict deadlines for myself, Im focused instead on actually taking action and enjoying the journey, and motivating myself by recognizing the progress I’m making, however little or big it might be.

Hope the year started off right for you and you’re on your way towards at least some of your goals – they definitely are inspiring! :)

“I’ll be honest, it’s really hard for me not to chase down every passing fancy that crosses my mind. When a new subject or idea interests me I become obsessive.”
I am exactly the same way! It’s so fun and frustrating at the same time. I’m thankful for a husband who supports all my big ideas, but I hope I can focus in on just a few of them enough this year that I can bring some stability to our lives!

Loving this! I definitely set a lot of goals and sometimes go a little overboard. I try to set one big goal per quarter for each area of life. It makes things a lot easier than trying to do everything at once.

I love this post. You’re so right that we live in a world where the pressure to do it all is almost crippling. I actually went to a vision board workshop last week at a wellness centre and I thought, ok I’ll get there and there will be magazines to cut pictures out of and we’ll do arts and crafts and make our vision boards. Instead, it was two hours of siting on yoga mats talking about the universe, our goals, the laws of attraction and how to REALLY great a vision board that we can manifest. Talk about empowering. I left having such a clearer vision as to what I want in 3 or 5 years and what I want NOW in the next year. If there are any workshops nearby you offering similar themes, I’d HIGHLY recommend checking one out. It did wonders for me :)

As I was reading your post, I saw a lot of myself in your words. I too have so many, different interests and care very deeply for so many different causes. I want to hep every person, creature and this planet be successful, healthy and better off than it once was. I was to learn everything I could possibly learn and educate others about those things. I want to get married, buy a house, find a job I don’t hate, maybe work from home, volunteer, you name it, I probably want to do it to some extent. I watched this interesting video on FB yesterday that talked about how this desire to need to do it all simultaneously is one of the pitfalls of people our age. The man said that as a generation, we were told that we could do anything we wanted if we set our minds to it as we were younger. We believed it. However, now as our generation is leaving college and moving into the workforce we are all painfully learning firsthand that it’s not that easy. Similarly to you, I hope to narrow my focus on the goals that I need to and can accomplish in one year and work to create plans to fulfill other goals in the long term. Love you, love this post. Happy 2017, lovely.

It’s impossible to do it all, right now, even though that’s my tendency too sometimes! But then I just get frustrated and discourage! I like to break my big goals up into smaller steps, and then I get so excited when I see the progress! Good luck with your new job!

I really go back and forth on this! Sometimes I feel like setting lofty goals inspires me to do more and stretch myself, but sometimes I feel like they make me feel inadequate. I think I’m still trying to find the right balance!

Oh my goodness, I SO hear you, girl! I think for me comparison to others is what keeps me from focusing on realistic goals that are good for ME and MY life. Comparison is the thief of joy and it’s so unrealistic to try to have someone else’s life! I need to focus on what makes ME happy in 2017!

Love this post Jordyn! I think it’s great that you want to do it all, I mean at least you know you want to do something. On the other hand, I’m about to graduate college in a few months and I’m still just as lost as I was whenI first started school. I wish you the best in your new job and what the year holds for you!
xoxo,
Amy | Pastel N Pink

I am totally guilty of this too! I always find myself setting unrealistic goals for myself or too many goals at one time, which only sets me up for disappointment. Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts and encouragement!